Dehumanizing is so human

How can people bear to cause other people pain? How can people embrace racism, sexism, political and religious violence, and hatred? A major part of the answer is that it is all too easy for people to see the world through fear and anger and to view other people as not fully human. But in dehumanizing others, people dehumanize themselves. And in so doing, they become numb and can hurt others without feeling it. However, this is not simply a political, cultural, psychological or spiritual problem. This whole process takes place in the body. Though most people do not notice it, emotions are actions that we do in the body. Hatred is something that is done in the body. To change how we feel, it is not enough just to decide to stop destructive feelings. The body must be taught to not hate. And in a sense that is impossible. It is impossible to stop a negative. It must be replaced with a positive. Through specific and concrete body techniques, it is possible to teach people to create, understand and use in their lives a body state of awareness, power and compassion. This is not the whole solution, but it is a necessary foundation. It moves people to feel others as human and to care what happens to them.